Le Creuset Haul with Pumpkin Casserole!

Hello people! Check out this trunk shot from a recent haul of Le Creuset I made off with...! Pardon the messy trunk - there is road salt, a pair of clippers, and some boxes to pad my new pretties.

I have longed for this pumpkin casserole for quite some time. I noticed that it can be crazy expensive to buy (secondhand) around October, when the crisp autumn air reminds everyone of pumpkin spice this-and-that. It also coincides with the time when everyone is thinking of comfort meals in cast iron casseroles and Halloween!

This pic is from the ad that I happened to see shortly after it was posted.

The seller was also looking to get rid of a large flame coloured dutch oven as well, and even though I didn't need it, it was well priced enough that I knew I could resell it quickly to help pay off my new pumpkin purchase.

The seller also had a couple of Le Creuset accessories to round out the dutch ovens: a cast iron trivet, and a rubber spatula. I have heard this similar tale before, that the cooks love these pieces, and often received them as gifts, but find them too heavy to carry as the cooks get older.

I'm still getting used to the idea of cooking something up in an irregular shape as this pumpkin casserole is in. Do you think people mostly use these for serving rather than stirring?

Easy Thai Green Curry!

No thrifty finds to share this week, but I thought I'd post about a dish I made this week... Thai Green Curry! My kitchen is pretty dark, so the lighting situation isn't great, but I still want to share some photos with you.

I started off with three boneless, skinless chicken thighs, a zucchini, and an onion, alll diced up.

After sauteeing the onions, I moved them over to one side of the pan and seared the chicken.

I like the concept of pushing stuff aside so the new ingredients get a chance to mingle with the hot pan. I think this is similar to the theory of using a wok, pushing the ingredints up the walls of the wok and searing the new stuff.

I found a great Supermarket in Vancouver that sells packaged Thai Green Curry Paste. I scooped a couple of tablespoons and toasted it in the hot oil. The fragrance it released was wonderful!

I added a small tin of coconut milk, about 170mL..

then threw in my zukes! A lot of recipes call up a full can of coconut milk, which is about 300mL but I find that the moisture from the vegetables makes up for it.

I let everything simmer for a bit, and ended up with a nice quick dinner. I love the versatility of this dish. You can use snap peas, eggplants, or whatever veggies you have in your kitchen. I think next time I might even omit the chicken and see if this works, as Vegetarian Green Curry over rice would be nice.

I'll try to work on my kitchen photography skills for next time!